Worldwide demand for corrugated boxes is expected to reach 260 billion square meters by 2019. In developed countries, boxes are used widely in all sectors of the economy so demand will track overall economic growth and industrial production trends and continue to be relatively slow growing. In less mature markets, especially in Asia and the Africa/Mideast region, growth will be more robust, as manufacturers in these areas use boxes more intensively for product packaging and transportation.

In all regions, strong growth in e-commerce will increase box usage as will the rising popularity of retail-ready packaging, the latter especially important in developed countries where labor costs are high. Boxes will continue to benefit from their sustainability, good environmental image, and low cost compared to competitive products. In addition, producers continue to upgrade their products in terms of durability and through the use of digital printing.

Developing regions to be fastest growing markets

The Asia/Pacific region accounts for half of all global corrugated box demand, with China alone accounting for 28 percent of the total. Growth in the Chinese market is expected to slow going forward as growth in manufacturing activity moderates and the country’s box industry matures. Despite this deceleration, China will post among the fastest growth in box demand worldwide. Other countries in Asia that are projected to register strong advances include India, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The Africa/Mideast region will offer the fastest growth among the six worldwide regions, but will continue to account for less than five percent of global corrugated box demand. While the region has a few appreciable box markets -- Turkey, most notably -- most countries in the region, including the wealthier nations, do not have manufacturing sectors large enough to support substantial corrugated box sales.

Boxes to benefit from good environmental profile

Boxes compete with a number of other packaging materials, such as reusable plastic containers. In addition to their cost and performance advantages, corrugated boxes are viewed as an environmentally preferable packaging format. In most countries, corrugated boxes have fairly well-developed reclamation/recycling infrastructures that prevent most boxes from entering the conventional waste streams. As a result, much of the world’s corrugated box supply is manufactured using old corrugated boxes as a fiber source. Although recycled fibers do not retain sufficient strength to be utilized indefinitely, they can be used several times over, giving them an advantage in areas where environmental considerations are an important part of the packaging selection process.

The ’Global and Chinese Corrugated Container board Industry, 2011-2021 Market Research Report’ is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the global Corrugated Container board industry ...

About Containerboard Containerboard is widely used for packaging different durable and non-durable goods. Containerboard packaging is a lighter, stronger, more durable, and cost-effective alternative to ...